Gender Equality in Sports

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Gender Equality in Sports

Literature Review

Gender equality is defined as the act of treating men and women equally on all levels. When this gender equality is thrown into discussion with our continuously growing sports culture, it raises many concerns (Lyras 2009). Gender equality among male and female athletics has always been a hot button issue, and even now it is still to be said that there is not full equality in any level of athletics. These inequalities come in the form of financial disparity, media coverage, or lack thereof, and other benefits usually offered to male athletes that are not offered to women (Lyras).

Title IX is a portion included in the Education Amendments of 1972 that was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon. This Title IX act is intended to stop sexual discrimination and it states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance…” This act has had a major impact on the amount of athletic opportunities that are now available for females as well as males (Huckle 1978).

Many other nations are striving for gender equality in sports. The General Assembly of the Swedish Sports Confederation passed a law in 1995 stating that all teams of the Swedish Sports Confederation and district alliances shall include equal numbers of men and women. The South African cabinet, in hopes of enforcing gender parity for both private and public sectors, has also recently passed the Women Empowerment & Gender Equality Bill (WEGE). Women, Children and People with Disabilities Minister Lulu Xingwana said, "We are fully aware tha...

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...r, Shira. (2014, Feb. 11). Women’s Ski Jumping Ready for a Sochi Takeoff. The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 25, 2014, from http://bostonglobe.com.

U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Policy Interpretation, 44 Fed. Reg. at 71419 (1979).

"Women's Sports Foundation." Women's Sports Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web.30 Apr. 2013. .

"Women at the Olympic Games." Women at the Olympic Games. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. .

Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (2012). Print.

Yuracko, K. A. (2002). Title IX and the problem of gender equality in athletics. Gender Issues, 20(2-3), 65-80. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12147-002-0017-1

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